Of Fox Demons and Death Gods
by general zargon
Summary: This is a crossover over between Yami no Matsuei and Ayashi no Kimi no Koiwazurai (manga summary inside). Guardian of Death Hisoka Kurosaki thought he was being sent on a wild goose chase...turns out he was only half right as he stumbles upon some demons hanging around a certain mountain. Rated for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: As a Birthday present to myself, I have decided to post the first chapter of this story (okay, so it's technically the day after my birthday, but it still counts!). I hope you enjoy it too! :) Also, I really wanted some sexy fox-man love, gosh darn it!_

_**Manga summary: the protectors of a certain fox deity shrine happen to be Unka, an overly-serious red fox with a low social status, and Aura, a delinquent, pure-bred white fox. Can Unka, who is unable to express himself honestly, and Aura, who always goes all-out to get what he wants, really fall in love!?**_

* * *

'_It was just supposed to be a routine patrol, damn it!'_ was the only thought that ran through Unka's mind, repeating over and over again like some sort of mantra as the red fox ran through the woods, a mere flash of crimson to the naked eye. His paws thudding against the ground as he ran, he panted harshly as his lungs struggled to pull in enough air to maintain his frantic pace as he darted through the underbrush.

His ears were pinned back as tightly as possible against his head, and his heart was pounding so hard that it felt as though the organ was trying to beat its' way out of his chest. All he could hear was the thundering of his heartbeat, and yet he somehow managed to be aware of every twig that snapped behind him, every whistle of wind as it went through the trees above him. And most of all, of every distant snarl as the creatures that made them drew ever closer to him.

It hadn't been his fault, honestly! He had just been doing one last patrol for the night when he had stumbled onto the first of the creatures, a scout if he'd had to guess. He had picked up the smell of blood at the halfway point on his patrol and he had dutifully gone to investigate, expecting to find an injured deer or something along those lines. Instead, he had found something that made his blood run cold and his instincts, the ones rooted deep in the most animalistic part of his brain, scream at him to run away. And that was exactly what he had done, turning and sprinting back towards the shrine as fast as he could.

He had only looked at the creature for a moment, yet the image of it was burned into his mind. At first glance it had appeared to be a very large dog, but that impression was quickly destroyed on the second glance, as regular dogs certainly didn't have solid, _glowing_ red eyes. Its' fur coat consisted of thick, shaggy black fur that glistened with some sort of liquid (Unka shied away from examining that thought too deeply) and its' black claws had gleamed even in the minimal light of the sickle-shaped moon that filtered through the trees. And the fangs that had been revealed when the dog-like thing had opened its' maw to snarl at him…

And it hadn't been alone, letting out a bone-chilling howl to summon its' fellow creatures before chasing after the fleeing red fox.

A shudder ran down Unka's spine at the thought and caused his fur to stand on end, especially when he recalled what had happened next. He didn't know how, but the other creatures – _thirteen, maybe more,_ he'd thought – had gotten in front of him and cut off his path to the fox deity shrine, forcing him to run in a different direction in order to avoid running right into their midst. It had happened several times, whenever he would find a way around them so he could head back to the shrine, one or more of the dog-creatures would cut him off and force him to go in a different direction.

It was only when he suddenly found himself halfway down the mountain that he realized, with an icy cold feeling in his chest that doused his previous feeling of panic, that he was being _herded_. In a sort of twisted parody of a fox-hunt, the dog-creatures were trying to drive him somewhere – and they were succeeding.

There wasn't even enough light filtering through the tree branches for a human to see a foot in front of their faces, but to Unka's eyes there was light equal to that of an extremely overcast day. And that scared him to death, because if he could see so clearly, then the ones pursuing him could see just as well.

The fog caused by his harsh breaths in the night air was quickly whipped away by the speed at which he ran, but something inside of him still said he wasn't going fast enough. The echoing snarls behind him seemed to second that notion, and Unka tried vainly to push himself faster even as his lungs burned for air and his legs threatened to give out. He gave a moments' thought to stopping in order to fight the creature that caught up to him first, and if he did that and killed enough of them maybe the others would give up and leave, but a scarce second later he knew that he had already been running too long. He had used up too much energy for the idea to work, and maybe if he had thought of it sooner he might have stood a chance, but it was too late. Early on in the chase, before he had figured out that the dogs (demons? It was possible…) had been driving him down the mountain, he had attempted to use some illusions to confuse the creatures and buy some time for him to gain a greater lead on them.

Unfortunately, the illusions had barely even slowed them down, and now he was on the verge of collapse from the long sprint down the mountain. Unka thought he was somewhere around the base, but he didn't have time to try and figure out where. Right now his only thought was to try and keep just one step ahead of the creatures, just that one bite away from their jaws…

_They were gaining on him_, ran through Unka's mind, and he thought wildly that he felt a slight breeze near his tail that might have been a bite just barely missing its' mark…He pushed himself faster, somehow finding the energy to push himself further ahead of his pursuers.

A blur of darkness appeared out of the corner of his eye, and the twin glowing red orbs identified it as one of the dog-creatures.

What happened next appeared to be in slow motion, Unka was so aware of it, even though it was really only an instant. The dog-creature had pulled ahead of the pack, and now it leapt, jaws open and fangs gleaming with saliva towards the red fox's flank. Unka tried to jump and avoid the lunge, but his luck finally gave out: his footsteps faltered, legs giving for just that moment, a tree root in exactly the right place to trip him, and the red fox went down under the weight of the monster.

Unka hit the ground with a loud, pained yelp, and both fox guardian and dog-creature went tumbling head over heels down a sharp incline that had been hidden in the bushes off to the side. Sharps rocks and whipping branches struck his body as he fell through an assortment of plants, an unpleasant experience to be sure, but it also had the benefit of slowing his fall. He hit the bottom of the incline barely a minute after the dog-creature, though with a softer impact.

He didn't have time to recover either his wits or his footing before he felt sharp fangs pierce the skin on his right hind-leg and he acted on instinct when he felt the pain. Whirling around, the red fox sank his own fangs into the fur of the dog-creature's shoulder, diving in until he felt flesh, and then bit down with all his might. The blood that filled his mouth was rancid, the foulest thing he had ever tasted, and before he had even thought about it he released his bite, even as the dog-creature also released its' grip on his leg with a pained yelp.

Searing pain shot up from the wound in his leg, made even worse by the dog-creature's saliva which felt like acid on the bite mark. With an effort, Unka rolled back onto his feet, facing the dog-creature even as he favored his right hind-leg. No matter what, he thought as he narrowed his eyes at the creature, he wasn't about to go down without a fight, even if it was a fight he was destined to lose. His ears pinned back aggressively, he showed his fangs in a wordless snarl, his spiritual powers appearing in the form of flames flickering across his fur and hovering around him.

Unka knew he couldn't afford to hold back in this fight, and with a savage snarl he lunged at the dog-creature, surprising it with his sudden move and causing it to hesitate for just a moment. That moment was all he needed to sink his teeth into the dog-creature's throat, and though he gagged on the foul liquid that passed as the monster's blood he held on. He had gone straight for a fatal blow, knowing there was no time to draw things out or allow the monster to launch an attack of its' own, because he knew there was no way he could have dodged it.

The dog-creature yowled in pain, lashing out as it struggled and succeeding in grazing Unka's chest with its claws, though thankfully the scratches were shallow and the creature paid for the wounds with savagely burned paws from the fox's spiritual power. For what seemed like an eternity but was in reality only a few minutes the dog-creature struggled to get free and the red fox fought to maintain his grip. Finally, the monster stilled, its' body going limp as the fatal bite Unka had landed did its' job.

When the dog-creature died, the fox guardian dropped the corpse like he'd been scalded, hacking to try and cough up the few drops of foul blood that had gotten down his throat. Over his pulsing heartbeat and loud hacking, the sounds of the other creatures circling around him reached Unka, and with a final cough he lunged towards the one opening that the dog-creatures hadn't managed to close off yet. It was awkward running on three legs, but adrenaline gave the red fox the speed boost he needed to break through the circling monsters and start running again.

It was a futile effort, he knew that, but he wasn't just going to lie down and let the creatures make a meal of him, not after he had managed to kill one of them.

Evidently his speed despite the fact that one of his legs was injured surprised his pursuers, and he was able to gain a second's head-start on them. His lead didn't last long, just long enough for him to pull a length ahead, and he didn't even bother to try and trick the things again, simply because his illusions had already proven useless against them. His spiritual powers still flickered across his fur and around him as he ran; he wasn't foolish enough to dismiss them after his brief skirmish with that one creature had proved they could injure the monsters.

He was only a common fox, a red one at that – the lowest kind in the fox hierarchy - so his powers weren't the strongest, though he was far from weak. He knew that if he'd been able to take the time to focus his powers he would have been able to kill the dog-creatures one at a time, but with the creatures working in tandem like they had been that simply hadn't been an option.

Unka didn't know where he was running to, and he didn't have time to figure it out as the terrifying howls of his pursuers sounded behind him. The scratches on his chest stung fiercely, and his lips pulled back from his teeth in a dark grimace of pain.

The dog-creatures caught up to him barely a minute later, and he felt sharp stings on both of his haunches as two of the creatures nipped at him to try and slow him down. It worked, the new pain combined with his wounded leg and chest caused him to slow minutely, and that was all the opportunity the creatures needed. Three dog-creatures leapt forward, grabbing his tail and one working back leg in their mouths and dragging the fleeing fox to the ground.

His spiritual power seared the monsters' mouths and paws, but that didn't stop them from biting and clawing at him. His pained scream, a shockingly human sound coming from a vulpine throat, rang through the trees, echoing through the forest at the base of mountain. One of the dog-creatures latched onto his throat, cutting off the sound at the source, and Unka thrashed, clawing and biting at anything he could reach even as his movements caused the dog-creatures' teeth to sink deeper into his body.

Pain overwhelmed him, and his body went limp, all his energy spent on that last bout of struggling. The flames of his spiritual power flickered and faded away, and then there was nothing to stop the monsters from tearing him apart.

As his vision faded and the deep blackness of unconsciousness swept over him, his last thought was for Aura. He hoped the white fox would be alright, and that he wouldn't do something stupid when Unka didn't come back from the patrol…

* * *

Hisoka Kurosaki, Guardian of Death and one half of the team that made up the leadership of Kyushu, shivered as a cold gust caused him to huddle deeper into his thick jacket. He trudged up the overgrown deer trail that comprised the so-called path that circled the grounds of the inn/hot springs he was staying at, silently wondering what had possessed him to come out in the middle of the night. There was barely enough light from the sickle-moon above for him to avoid tripping and falling flat on his face, but he had been too restless back at the inn to sleep and he hadn't been in the mood for yet another soak in the hot springs. With how long his last soak had lasted, he had been in very real danger of falling asleep and sliding down under the water, so he thought it best to stay away from the hot springs for a night.

The inn he was staying at was located at the base of a mountain and sported some very nice hot springs and some beautiful grounds. The reason Hisoka was there in the first place was to check out the source of some odd energy that had been detected in the area, but he was starting to suspect that the department had just wanted to get him out of the way by sending him on this solo assignment-slash-vacation. With Tsuzuki still in the infirmary from their last mission (a rather nasty poltergeist who'd been disinclined to move on; Tsuzuki had taken a table to the head and three steak knives to the chest) he honestly hadn't expected to be sent out into the field so soon.

Imagine his surprise when he went into the office after visiting Tsuzuki to be greeted by Tatsumi bearing a mission file and then told that he was supposed to leave immediately after packing enough clothes and necessities to last a week or two. He had accepted, mostly because he didn't really have a choice since the assignment had been approved by the Chief. In retrospect, he might have been a bit in shock after Tatsumi had told him that he was going on a solo-assignment, because he didn't remember going home and packing his bags, though he had been vaguely aware of teleporting to the inn.

A quick scan of the – suspiciously thin – mission folder had revealed that all he had to go on was that some odd energy had been detected around that particular mountain. He was apparently supposed to stay there for a few weeks and see if he could get a fix on the source of the energy, and the fact that the inn was apparently a highly regarded relaxation spot was just a coincidence…yeah, right. Barely even a week after he'd gotten there, and Hisoka was pretty much certain that his suspicion about being sent on a wild goose chase was right on the money. So far he'd felt neither hide nor hair of any 'odd energy', and he was starting to get pretty tired of haunting the hot springs every day.

While he was certain that most of the other guardians in the Summons Department would be jumping for joy at being sent on a vacation poorly disguised as a mission, Hisoka was bored almost to death (undeath? He was already dead, so how would that work? He managed to pass a couple of hours thinking about that before he gave up). The inn had a bunch of the same activities as that hotel he and the rest of the group had stayed at during the Hokkaido vacation, but he still managed to get bored stiff of them within the first week. He had been reduced to lounging about in the hot springs almost all day, and that was what really galled him.

Noticing his restlessness, one of the hostesses told him about a path around the grounds, little more than a deer trail really, that some guests used to take a walk and get some exercise and fresh air. He had been bored enough that he had decided it was worth a shot, if only so that he would have a chance of detecting any _odd energy_ if he got a bit further from the inn. Despite his poor night-vision, he had been walking along the trail long enough for his eyes to adjust enough for him to make out the trees and bushes and the roots sticking up from the ground. If he didn't detect anything by the next day, he decided as he brushed a particularly stubborn twig off his pants' leg from where it had been poking him through the denim material, he was going to head back to Meifu no matter what Tatsumi said.

The minute that thought crossed his mind, a sharp chill stabbed the base of his spine, and he stiffened as he felt a tingle of the dark, savage emotions that signaled the presence of demons. Anger, hatred, bloodlust, all those negative emotions and others he couldn't even begin to describe slammed into his mind, catching him so off guard that he stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.

Breathing heavily, he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to work through the thick cloud of dark emotions that had bombarded him. If he had to think of a comparison, he would have likened the sensation to his mind wading through thick, dark syrup that stung something awful and left you feeling dirty for awhile after you got through it. It wasn't easy, and by the time he was done sweat dotted along his brow and he was struggling to get his breath back. He had to wonder how the report had failed to mention that the so-called 'odd energy' had belonged to _demons_ (from what he could sense, there was definitely more than one) of all things!

Of course, since he was pretty sure that the assignment had actually been meant as a way to get him out of the way, maybe the Judgment Bureau hadn't _known_ about any demons in the area when they had sent him…Yeah, that seemed a bit more likely than whoever compiled the report forgetting to mention more than one demonic creature.

Hisoka grit his teeth, taking a deep breath as he picked up his pace, and even before the wave of _painfeardesperationpaindespairregretohgodsithurtsp leasehelp_ slammed into him he was already heading towards where he sensed the demons. From the surge of emotions, it was clear that they had caught someone who had had to misfortune to stumble across them, and he increased his speed until he was sprinting towards the demons. He had to move off the deer trail and the myriad of plants slowed his progress, but he didn't let that stop him from trying to get to the person the demons had caught before it was too late for them.

To speed up his progress, the eternal sixteen year-old shifted into his spirit form, becoming invisible to those without high spiritual power. Now the foliage that had slowed him before passed through his body like mist as he ran, wondering if he should try flying in order to go even faster, but barely a second after the thought ran through his mind, a harsh, pain-filled scream (that sounded much too human for him to be comfortable with) reached his ears. He was getting closer to the pack of demons as well, and he instinctively withdrew an _ofuda_ from his jacket pocket and held it tightly between his fingers as he came onto the source of the dark, malicious energy that was characteristic of demons.

He wasn't prepared for the sight that awaited him, not by a long shot.

A pack of hellhounds – demons that looked like dogs except for their glowing red eyes - were snarling, roaring, and shoving at each other to get at whoever they had caught, a rolling mass of thick black fur paired with the veritable storm of dark emotions coming off of the demons. What made the young Guardian of Death's blood run cold was the bright red liquid that he could see staining many of their muzzles. And with a jolt, he realized that he could no longer feel the lighter, more human emotions that had let him know that the hounds had captured a victim in the first place.

Hisoka scowled, the expression surprisingly severe on his sixteen year-old face, and fiercely began to chant as he moved the _fuda_ in the appropriate motions, "By virtue of Hades…!"

The hellhounds sensed his gathering spiritual energy and ceased tearing at their prey to look over at the Shinigami, and that pause was all the time Hisoka needed to launch his spell. Golden bolts of energy flew out of the talisman in his hand, striking the demon dogs and sending them flying with high-pitched yelps and yowls. He hadn't managed to hit all of them with the attack, but those he had missed retreated from the torn body that had been in the middle of the pack with warning snarls and tails stuck straight out behind them.

Emerald green eyes narrowed into a glare as he moved his hands into a prayer position like Chief Konoe had taught him, the ofuda held between his hands, and the hellhounds must have recognized his pose as one that meant he was preparing for another attack, because they retreated even further from the body of their victim. He began another chant, this one an exorcism meant to banish and/or destroy demons, but the hellhounds didn't give him the chance to use the power he had gathered. With a final snarl in his direction, the pack of demonic hounds turned tail and ran back into the dark forest surrounding them left the old-young man watching warily to see if they were trying to circle around for an ambush.

They weren't; the night air stilled as though holding its' breath, then seemed to release it in a sigh as a soft breeze rustled through the tree branches. After another minute, Hisoka dropped his hands from their ready position and silently allowed the energy he had gathered to dissipate, choosing instead to turn his attention to the most important matter at hand, namely checking to see if the hellhounds' victim was still alive. Quickly approaching the edge of the alarmingly large pool of blood, the emerald-eyed teen had to stop and swallow thickly, trying to breathe as shallowly as possible to avoid having the smell and taste of the blood stuck in his throat. Ignoring the fact that he was probably going to have to buy a new pair of shoes after this and determinedly _not_ paying attention to the splashes his footsteps made in the pool of blood, he hurried over to the surprisingly small (oh Hades please don't let the demons have attacked a child, Hisoka thought fervently) body in the center of the carnage.

As Hisoka got closer to the still form, he noticed several things, the first being that the body was covered in blood-stained fur, and the second that the body had paws instead of hands and feet. He was pretty sure those weren't normal things for humans, let alone children, to have. As he knelt carefully in the blood pool, shuddering lightly at the feel of the still-warm liquid soaking into the legs of his jeans, a closer inspection revealed that the hellhounds' victim had been a fox, albeit a larger than usual one…It was impossible for him to tell what color the animal's fur had been due to all of the blood and injuries covering the fox's body.

He winced, because he could now clearly see that the hellhounds had only been a few bites away from literally ripping the poor creature to shreds. There were deep bite and claw marks all over the animal's body, the most severe looking to have been concentrated on the fox's legs and its' body, though there was a large amount of blood staining the fur at the animal's throat. He cringed at the sorry state that the poor creature's body had been left in, and with a sigh he decided that the least he could do was bury the fox so it didn't become food for scavengers.

Reaching out to touch one of the few spaces on the fox's body that _wasn't_ covered with wounds, Hisoka was stunned speechless when he actually felt the faintest thrum of emotion from the animal. It was faint, almost completely gone, but there were definitely traces of pain coming from the animal. Now that he was closer to the fox, he could see the blood-soaked fur of its sides lift and lower with its faint – and getting fainter, he noticed with alarm – breathing. As stunned as he was about the fact that the animal was still alive after an attack by a pack of hellhounds, he wasted no time in shrugging off his light jacket and gently wrapping it around the fox, trying to avoid causing the poor creature anymore pain.

The eternal teenager winced in sympathy as he tucked as much of the material of the jacket (already stained red, he noted) around the animal as he could, moving the fox's paws close to its' injured body so he could pick up the vulpine without its' paws dangling in the air and possibly causing the creature any more discomfort. He probably didn't succeed, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Hisoka grimaced as he stood up, jacket-wrapped injured fox cradled against his chest, feeling the drying blood he had been kneeling it pull slightly on his jeans as he moved. He hesitated in turning around, however, as the thought that moving the injured animal might make things worse, and his brow furrowed as he tried to think up a solution. The answer to his dilemma was obvious, and he closed his eyes in concentration as he prepared to teleport back to his room at the inn. Guardians of Death could take people with them when they teleported, it was a proven fact, and the fox he was holding was smaller than a person, so there should be no problem in taking the animal along with him.

It would certainly be easier on the animal's injuries, he thought, and that decided it for him. A minute later, and the small clearing was empty save for the large amount of blood staining the ground and the wind whistling through the trees.

* * *

_Author's Note: I was kind of conflicted about whether or not to end it with Unka blacking out or not, but then decided that that was too cruel and decided to include that bit with Hisoka. I don't really know when this will be updated, but I hope you'll all be patient! Please review and tell me what you thought! As always, constructive criticism is welcome!_


	2. Chapter 2

In the time it took Hisoka to transport back to his room at the inn, set the bleeding fox down on his futon*, get the first-aid kit from the bathroom, and return to crouch by the animal's side, the young Guardian honestly wasn't sure the fox was still alive. He carefully unwound his jacket from around the animal and set the bloodied article of clothing aside, already knowing that it was likely far too stained to be salvageable.

At first glance it didn't look like the animal was breathing, as he couldn't see if its' sides were moving beneath its' blood-soaked fur, and the bedding beneath it was soaked with the blood from the fox's wounds, despite the fact that he had only just removed it from his jacket. He worried over how much of the vital liquid the poor animal had lost, since he vividly remembered how much had been left in the small clearing where he'd faced the hellhounds.

Sticking a hand in front of the vulpine's snout; he felt just the faintest whisper across his fingers that meant that the fox still lived. Sighing quietly in relief, he didn't have time to relax as he quickly turned to the side and raided the well-stocked first-aid kit he'd found, pulling out bandages, disinfectant, and many other things that he thought he'd need, including a needle and thread to sew up some of the larger gashes on the animal's body. He steeled himself, mentally apologizing to the poor creature as he swallowed, took a deep breath, and then got to work doing what he could to save the fox's life.

He went and got all the towels and washcloths from the bathroom that he could find along with two large bowls, one of which he filled with water and the other he left empty. He figured he'd have to clean the wounds then ring out the towels thoroughly over the empty bowl so the injuries didn't get infected after he finished treating them. He didn't have access to a large supply of towels, so wringing them out to reuse them was the best option on that score.

Hours later, the Guardian of Death breathed a sigh of relief as he was finally able to sit back and let the tension drain out of his shoulders. The sun was peeking over the horizon; he was able to see the rays of light through the curtains as he leaned back and braced himself on red-stained hands. He had spent the entire night treating the fox's wounds, and the animal was thankfully still alive, though it had been a close call on multiple occasions.

The eternal teenager had had to pause frequently to check and make sure the animal was still alive, his empathy being of no help, since strong emotions such as pain sometimes lingered even after death. He had managed to find the most serious wounds and do what he could for them. Some of them were so bad that he had used a healing spell on them, regardless of the fact that the one he was trying to save was an animal instead of a human. The animal's torn throat, for example, had required two healing spells before he had felt alright with just bandaging it. Hellhound saliva burned like acid in open wounds, causing a great deal of pain and increasing risk of infection, but simple purification spells usually took care of that problem.

Hisoka looked thoughtfully at the creature than now resembled a mummy more than a fox, covered in bandages as it was. The hellhounds had definitely done a number on it, he acknowledged as he pushed himself to his feet and headed to the bathroom to clean up. Claw and bite marks had covered almost its' entire body, the worst looking to have been focused on its' legs and body. Among the fox's myriad of injuries were several broken bones in the animal's legs and a few cracked ribs.

As he washed his hands, scrubbing intently in order to get all the animal's blood off, he was running down a mental list of things he'd have to do in order to clean up the room so the staff at the inn didn't find out he'd turned one of their rooms into an impromptu veterinary clinic. He kind of thought that that might get him tossed out of them inn at best, even if he wasn't sure about the hot springs' policy on animals.

Burning his jacket, jeans, and the bedding were at the top of his list, and he wondered where he would be able to get exact duplicates of the sheets and blankets…perhaps a storeroom for spares or something along those lines? The inn had to have spares in case of one of the guests spilling something or otherwise ruining a blanket/sheet. He wasn't sure if blood soaking the bedding qualified as a 'spill' though…

Releasing a heartfelt sigh, Hisoka dried his now-clean hands off and got to work. It would probably take at least another hour to get everything cleaned up and track down replacements for his ruined bedding. And _then _he had to contact the Summons Section and let them know about the pack of hellhounds (not to mention chewing out whoever had somehow missed the multiple demons in the area when compiling that very thin report). Gathering up the scattered pieces of gauze and unused bandages took around fifteen minutes, but collecting the blood-stained towels and washcloths took longer, not to mention repacking the first-aid kit with the things he hadn't used and the bottles of antiseptic that still had liquid in them.

The Guardian of Death regularly checked on the fox, which was still lying on the blood-stained bedding (he would have to find some way of moving it so he could dispose of the bedding), to make sure it was still alive. After all, he justified to himself, he didn't want to have spent all that time patching it up just to have the fox finally die from its' injuries. The excuse sounded weak, even to him.

Contrary to what a lot of his co-workers thought – especially after the Hokkaido Incident, as that disastrous vacation came to be known – Hisoka actually liked animals. Especially furry ones, as his partner had discovered when they had encountered a fluffy cat on an assignment and the blond had spent almost ten minutes petting it. Seeing the fox's body lying on the ground, still and bloody, had tugged at his heart, and when he'd seen it was still alive he'd just had to try and save it.

It had never really occurred to him to leave the poor fox behind to die, no matter how much work cleaning up all the medical supplies and setting the room to rights (or disposing of the animal's body if he couldn't save it, a part of his mind whispered) would be. That was why he hadn't minded using some of the few healing chants he knew to try and help it, and he was relieved when he'd seen them visibly working to mend the fox's injuries. One of the reasons why he'd known the creature was still among the living was the soft whimpers of pain that occasionally escaped the vulpine's throat and the faint twitches of muscle that he had felt under his hands while he had been wrapping the bandages around the fox's injuries.

Hisoka groaned in relief as he used a simple spell to incinerate the used gauze pads and destroy the last remaining evidence of the first-aid he had performed on the wounded animal. He would have to take the soiled bedding out somewhere isolated in order to burn that (it had taken some careful maneuvering, but he'd managed to get the sheets and blankets out from under the fox), so for the moment it was shoved into the very back of the room's closet. His jacket and jeans met their demise via the same fire spell in the bathroom, after which he sprayed some air freshener to disguise the scent of burned fabric.

The old-young man could only hope that that would be enough to stop anyone from asking about any strange smells from his room.

When he'd done all he could to clean up the room, changed into one of the robes provided for guests, and checked once again to make sure the fox was still breathing, it was almost twelve o'clock in the afternoon and he was exhausted. He was leaning against the wall near the window, curtains pulled to block out as much of the light as they could, when he wearily picked up his cell phone and selected the speed-dial for Tatsumi's number. Hovering his finger over the 'select' button, he experienced a moment of doubt, wondering if he should mention _everything_ about his encounter with hellhounds…it's not like the injured fox was actually important, but he felt bad at the thought of lying, even if only by omission, to the secretary.

Before he could make up his mind, however, he was jolted out of his thoughts by a quiet knock on the door.

Not knowing whether to be thankful or curse whoever-it-was' timing, Hisoka flipped his phone closed and pushed himself to his feet, swaying a bit before he got his bearings. An entire night without sleep was catching up to him, he noted unhappily as he took some tentative steps, then walked out of the bedroom, making sure to shut the screen behind him, and over to the door to the room.

A peek out the door as he opened it a crack revealed one of the hostesses standing there, the one who had told him about the deer/hiking trail, actually. The young woman looked relieved to see him, and his expression was inquisitive when he asked her what she wanted. A faint blush decorating her cheeks, the hostess laughed lightly and told him, "My sincerest apologies, sir, but no one saw you come in last night, and I was just checking to make sure that nothing bad happened to you while walking along the trail."

Dang, he should have thought of that before simply teleporting into the inn. He put his best polite smile on his face and reassured the woman, "I'm just fine, thank you. I just didn't want to disturb anyone when I came back so late." After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, the hostess left, and Hisoka was able to shut the door with a sigh of relief.

Turning around and leaning back on the wooden barrier, Hisoka let the back of his head rest against the door for a moment as he stared up at the ceiling. That had been a close one, he registered, and he was profoundly grateful that the hostess hadn't asked him if he'd seen anything interesting during his walk…

His stomach growled abruptly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything that day, and the young Guardian decided that calling Tatsumi could wait another half hour or so while he got something to eat. He firmly ignored the little voice in the back of his mind that accused him of stalling.

After checking on the fox one last time (the animal, he was relieved to find, was sleeping peacefully, and its' breaths were visibly lifting its' sides), Hisoka changed clothes and exited the room after grabbing his wallet and room key. Shutting and locking the door behind him, the eternally-teenaged death god set off for the communal dining room, which was really just a fancy way of saying cafeteria/buffet/restaurant where guests went when they didn't want to order room service.

Unlike the rooms, which were designed with privacy and quiet in mind, the dining room was built in a traditional Japanese style, with low tables and comfortable cushions arranged around those tables. The servers, all of them women, were dressed in traditional kimonos and sported buns, braids, and other old-fashioned hairstyles. In an alcove set on the opposite side of the room from where he'd entered, in the wall between the one that sported the entrance to the kitchens and the one that had the entrance to the inn's lobby, a hostess dressed as a geisha played soothing melodies on a _koto_*. She was actually rather good, Hisoka noted as he sat down on a plush floor cushion in front of an empty table and ordered what he wanted from the menu, providing pleasant background music while everyone enjoyed their meals.

The blond kept to himself, staying quiet as he waited for his food to be brought out (he had ordered one of the rice dishes with a side, not wanting something that took too long to cook) and glancing around at the other guests in the room from the corner of his eyes. Everyone, from the couple sitting at one of the corner tables and feeding each other to the middle-aged woman chatting amiably with the slightly younger woman several tables away, looked happy and the emotions he felt drifting through the room supported that image. He looked back down at the polished, lacquered wood in front of him and resumed waiting for his own food, mind whirling as he waited.

The entire time he waited for the food and then while he ate, his thoughts chased themselves in circles, coming up with reasons why he shouldn't tell Tatsumi about the injured fox and then coming up with just as many reasons why he should. He probably would have already been dizzy if revolving thoughts counted as turning around at high speed, he mused wryly in the back of his mind. As he ate the last bite of his meal, wiped his mouth gently with the provided napkin, and left a small tip on the table he was fairly certain he'd figured out what he wanted to say to the Secretary of the Judgment Bureau.

Hisoka went back to his room, fighting to keep a casual pace and not look like he was hurrying to check up on anything. The fox had been hurt really badly, and just because it seemed like the animal was stable didn't mean it actually was…The Shinigami wasn't a vet – he was pretty far from it, actually – but he'd done the best he could with what he'd had on hand, in addition to the few healing spells he'd cast. He knew that there wasn't a lot he could do even if the fox's condition had gotten worse, but he just couldn't stop himself from worrying about the poor animal.

Being attacked by a pack of hellhounds and surviving it was no easy feat, especially for a mortal animal like the fox, so it was natural for him to be concerned, he tried to tell himself, and his tense shoulders relaxed slightly at that rationalization. Now if only he could get his mind from going back to his aforementioned concern for the wounded animal and he would be all set, he thought wryly as he opened the door to his room and slipped inside, shutting and locking it behind him.

* * *

*_A Japanese bed (anyone who watches anime should know this one...)_

*_A traditional Japanese stringed instrument_

_**Author's Note: Kind of short, I know, but I figured that that was as good a place to end the chapter as any. And yes, Hisoka has no clue that he saved a fox demon instead of a regular fox. :P Also, I post this second chapter in honor of the fact that, if all goes well, one of my original stories is going to be published in an anthology! *Does a happy dance* Wish me luck!**_

_**On a completely unrelated note, I've recently started playing Dungeons and Dragons Online…yeah, I have no idea why I mentioned that. I have enough plot bunnies already. *Head-desk***_


End file.
